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UFP Starfleet Warrant Officer Handbook
Introduction Welcome to UFP Starfleet Warrant Officer Handbook. If you are reading this handbook, you have probably just made it to a Warrant Officer, or you are interested in the career of a Starfleet Warrant Officer. This handbook will provide you with all information, you need in order to get started as a Warrant Officer. It is your career guide and will help you to do your job in your new position. For those people, who are reading this manual, in order to inform themselves about the career of a Starfleet Warrant Officer, this handbook will provide all information necessary to decide, whether a Warrant Officer career is for you or not. In case that there are any questions or issues or in case you discover any information that seems to be incorrect or against Starfleet regulations and Federation Law, please do not hesitate to contact your superior or Starfleet Academy. What is a Warrant Officer The Warrant Officer is a career path, that has been pretty newly established in Starfleet and is based on Warrant Officer ranks, used by the military of the old United States of America on Earth. But what is a Warrant Officer of Starfleet? The Warrant Officer in Starfleet is positioned above enlisted personnel but below the line officers of Starfleet. Generelly seen, a Warrant Officer is a member of Starfleet, who is serving as an officer on a warrant - hence the name Warrant Officer - unlike line officers, who become a commission awarded after completion of Starfleet Academy. The Warrant Officer does receive his or her warrant from the Secretary of Starfleet, while the higher ranked Warrant Officers receive their warrant directly from the President of the United Federation of Planets. The Warrant Officer is a highly skilled specialist in their respective field of work, in most cases with a civilian diploma or degree, and a long service time as enlisted member of Starfleet. This special skills do make the Warrant Officer a good trainer and mentor but also a reliable and knowledgeable member of their branch or department. Unlike regular line officers, who are generally expected to be allrounders, the Warrant Officer is however - due to the lack of Academy Training - only specialized in their field of work and their experience is mainly practical and on the job. This fact does restrict the Warrant Officer in regards of branch and position choices, in contrary to regular line officers, who have no restrictions in regards of position or department choices. How to become a Warrant Officer While in the Starfleet Marine Corps, there are programs, where one can become Warrant Officer by passing the Warrant Officer Training School, in Starfleet there is no such training course for Warrant Officers. All Starfleet Warrant Officers are recruited directly from the enlisted corps. In order to become a Starfleet Warrant Officer, the following requirements must be met: * Must be Enlisted, ranked at least Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) (E-7) * Must be active on a regular base * Must have a remarkless and spotless service record * Must be recommended for Warrant Officer promotion by superior or Commanding Officer * Must pass Warrant Officer exam Once these requirements are met, an Enlisted member of Starfleet may receive their Warrant by the Secretary of Starfleet or by the President of the United Federation of Planets. The warrant is not limited in time and is valid until the Warrant Officer either reaches retirement age or retires on his own choice. Warrant Officer Ranks The rank system of Starfleet for Warrant Officers is slightly different, than the one used by the Marine Corps. The Warrant Officer ranks are officially designated as W-1 to W-5. The ranks for the Warrant Officer career path are: * Warrant Officer 2nd Class (WO2) (W-1) * Warrant Officer 1st Class (WO1) (W-2) * Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) (W-3) * Senior Chief Warrant Officer (SCWO) (W-4) * Master Chief Warrant Officer (MCWO) (W-5) Warrant Officer Promotion Promotion of Warrant Officers is happening in the same way as for any other Starfleet personnel. The general requirements are Time in Grade (TiG) and general performance as well as activity. The difference with the promotion of Warrant Officers in contrary to regular officers and other Starfleet personnel is however, that the Warrant Officer is an officer, serving on a Warrant, valid only for their current rank. The consequence of this is, that a Warrant Officer requires a new warrant, hence authorization, from the United Federation of Planets, in order to be promoted. For the Warrant Officers first and second class, the warrant is handed out by the Secretary of Starfleet. Hence they are responsible for authorization of promotion in these ranks. The Warrants for the W-3 to W5 ranks come directly from the President of the United Federation of Planets who hence must approve the new warrant, before a promotion can be done. Warrant Officer Duties and Assignments The Warrant Officer is a mentor, trainer, technical expert and advisor in their field of work to line officers, lower ranked warrant officers and to all enlisted personnel. A Warrant Officer is generally appointed to positions, that are usually supposed to be filled by low to medium ranked line officers, but in most cases require the advanced technical knowledge of the Warrant Officer, which could not be obtained by the line officer. In Starfleet, Warrant Officers are likely to be seen as group or project leaders, team leaders or leaders of small sub-departments. In science and medical, warrant officers are oftentimes seen in positions, that have requirements above enlisted level and below or equal to officer levels. An example could be, for example, a pharmacologist or a medical technician. In rare occassions, a Warrant Officer could be seen as Deputy Department Head or even Department Head on smaller Starfleet vessels or installations or even on bigger ships and bases, in situations of dire need, where no qualified commissioned officers are available. This is however a rare occassion and no Warrant Officer should join the ranks with that expectation. The Warrant Officer is a qualified and elite member of Starfleet. They have a lot of respect within the fleet and are generelly looked up upon by enlisted, while many commissioned officers, who work with a Warrant Officer would never like to miss their advice and their skills. This high standing of Warrant Officers within the fleet, does however also mean high expectations! Warrant Officers are expected to serve and lead by example and to the best of their abilities. Difference between Commissioned Officers and Warrant Officers The difference between commissioned officers and warrant officers can be mainly seen as two things: The first and major difference is the type of commission, these types of officers hold. While both, Warrant Officer and commissioned officer are officers, the commissioned officer has received a commission after passing officer training of any kind. In the contrary, the Warrant Officer is in possession of a warrant by the Secretary of Starfleet or by the President of the United Federation of Planet, making them an officer. However, with the promotion to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer, the Warrant Officer does receive the commissioned warrant officer status, hence becoming a Warrant Officer with commission. At this point, the line and the Warrant Officer are pretty much identical in most ways and have pretty much the same privilleges and responsibilities as a line officer. As an example: A Warrant Officer does live in a regular officer's quarter when aboard starships, starbases or other Starfleet installations. The big advantage of any Warrant Officer over their commissioned counterparts, is the fact, that the Warrant Officer, coming from the active enlisted service, does have a lot more practical experience and on the job skills, then most low ranked commissioned officers, who become their commission right after their studies at the academy and - in most cases - without any or only very little practical experience. An disadvantage for any Warrant Officer is the fact, that a Warrant Officer is just that: a specialist of their field of work and within their respective branch. This somewhat limits the opportunities for a Warrant Officer, as for an example branch transfers are usually not possible or at least very difficult to achieve. On the other hand, the Warrant Officer is usually eligible to fill most positions and openings within their respective branch and its subdivisions and here even those, that are usually required to be filled by an officer. Warrant Officers are generally widely and happily accepted, mainly because of their great specialization and leadership skills and because of their great practical experience, which they combine with the aforementioned skills. Summarized, there is not much difference between the Warrant Officer and the Commissioned Officer. Both utilize pretty much identical privelleges and responsibilities and are considered to be officers in many way. While the biggest disadvantage may be seen as the limitation in career options, this is more than equalized due to their great experience, the Warrant Officer has in their field of work, and which is the biggest advantages over a Commissioned Officer. Given the fact, that most Starfleet personnel does usually not change branches anyway, this limitation should go pretty much unnoted for most Starfleet personnel. The greatest disadvantage or turndown for most Warrant Officers is the fact, they will never get to join the command branch in regards of being assigned as a Commanding Officer or Executive Officer. They can and are however oftentimes assigned to other leadership positions. Life as Warrant Officer Life as Warrant Officer is similar to that of an officer. The Warrant Officer will however be often times assigned as trainer and mentor for enlisted personnel as well as for lower ranked officer, who are new to their position. In addition, upon being appointed as a Warrant Officer one can expect to be asked many questions by many people, officers, enlisted, other warrant officers and even by flag officers, as the Warrant Officer is also a respected advisor to everyone. For the Warrant Officer it is very difficult, to stay tuned and focused and make sure, they maintain or even expend their great knowledge, they do already have. In addition to that, the ability to explain and to teach is very important for this positon, along with respectful behavior, according to Starfleet regulations and procedures. Anyone, who things who is up for this challange, should certainly consider to work towards a Warrant Officer career with Starfleet Additional Information for Warrant Officers and Warrant Officer Candidates If you are interested in a career as Starfleet Warrant Officer, you should check the following documents for more information about training and requirements for warrant officers of Starfleet. * UFP Starfleet Warrant Officer Candidate School (SFWOCS) * UFP Starfleet Warrant Officer Basic Course (SFWOBC) * UFP Starfleet Warrant Officer Advanced Course (SFWOAC) * UFP Starfleet Warrant Officer Training Handbook Category: Important Documents Category: Handbooks and Manuals Category: Starfleet Manuals